the love of food made gluten free

March 29, 2016

Smoooothies!

I never really got into smoothies. I mean, I’ve always loved the taste, but hate that they’re so packed full of sugar so I try to avoid them. However, after a rather indulgent weekend or two recently, I really needed to kick start my healthy eating and thought what better way than getting some veggies in me first thing!

I try to pack more vegetables than fruit into these, but the recipes below are just guides anyway, so feel free to switch it up! That’s more veg in all of them except on a Friday, as I’ve started treating myself to a Peanut Butter and Jelly smoothie which is INSANELY good!!! I did chuck some spinach in with it the last time I made it though, and apart from the horrific brown colour it came out as from mixing berries with the green, it still tasted amazing so I’ll be doing that in future!

Smooooothies!

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes in a blender Servings: 2

The Green One

100g spinach

Handful of kale

1/3 cucumber

A sprig of fresh mint leaves

1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped ginger

1 apple, cut into chunks

1 banana, cut into slices

A squeeze of fresh lemon

1 teaspoon flaxseed

First, add a splash of water into your blender and add the kale. Blitz until there are no bits and it’s completely blended. Next, add in the spinach and blitz again until it’s smooth. Then you can add in all your fruits and other veggies, one by one, until it’s all smooth.

Pear and Spinach

100g spinach

1 celery stick, chopped

1 orange, peel removed and cut into chunks

1 pear, remove the core then cut into chunks

1 banana, chopped

1 teaspoon chia seeds

Begin by adding a splash of water into the blender and adding the spinach. Blitz until smooth and then add in all your other veggies and fruit.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

2 tablespoons oats

A good handful of mixed frozen berries

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 bananas, chopped

A splash of almond milk

1 tablespoon peanut butter. I used Meridian as it’s 100% nuts with no added oil or sugar

Optional 100g spinach, but a warning that it will turn the smoothie brown!

(If adding spinach, blitz it first in the blender with a splash of water until smooth) Add in the almond milk with the oats, and bananas. Next add in the berries until smooth, followed by the peanut butter. Finish with the cinnamon. Adjust with more almond milk if it’s too thick, but the thicker the better for me!

Healthy Mojito

100g spinach

1/3 cucumber, chopped

A sprig of fresh mint leaves

1 banana, sliced

1 apple, cored and chopped into piece

Juice of 1 lime

Again, blend your spinach with a little water until smooth first. Next add all the other veggies and fruit, followed by the mint and lime juice. Depending on how juicy your lime is, you may want to add in another as it’s all about the zest in this smoothie!

Pineapple Passion

100g spinach or kale

1 stick celery, chopped

1/4 pineapple, chopped

Handful of frozen mango

1 banana, chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped

A few fresh mint leaves

A squeeze of lemon

1 teaspoon flaxseeds

As always, blitz the spinach or kale first in a little water, then add in the rest of your ingredients. Adjust to more pineapple for a super tropical sweet taste!